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THE 



CHARTER OF INCORPORATION 



AND 



BY-LAWS 



/ 

CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



TOGETHER WITH A 



LIST OF THE OFFICERS, 



ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC 



HARTFORD: 
PRINTED BY CAf?E, TIFFANY & CO., PEARL-STREET. 

1339. 



/ 



CHARTER OF INCORPORATION 



B Y - L A W S 



CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



TOGETHER WITH A 



LIST OF THE OFFICERS, 



ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC. 




HART FORD: 

PRINTED BY CASE, TIFFANY & CO., PEARL-STREET. 

1839. 



Oi 



OFFICERS 

OF THE 

CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

1839. 



PRESIDENT, 

THOMAS DAY. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS, 

Prof. JAMES L. KINGSLEY, New-Haven. 
Rev. DAVID D. FIELD, Haddam. 

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY, 

HENRY BARNARD, 2d. 

RECORDING SECRETARY, 

CHARLES HOSMER. 

TREASURER, 

JAMES B. HOSMER. 

STANDING COMMITTEE, 

CHARLES DAVIES, ERASTUS SMITH, 

NATHAN JOHNSON, Rev. GEORGE BURGESS, 

SAMUEL H. HUNTINGTON, JOHN P. BRACE, 
E. CHAMPION BACON. 



THOMAS DAY, Chairman. 
CHARLES HOSMER, Clerk. 



c^-^ 



ADDRESS. 



The Connecticut Historical Society was incorporated at the 
session of the General Assembly in 1825, for the purpose of dis- 
covering, procuring and preserving matter relative to the civil, 
ecclesiastical and natural history of this State and of the United 
States. The society was organized under the charter, soon after 
it was granted, with the venerable author of McFingal at its 
head ; that indefatigable antiquarian, the Rev. Mr. (since Dr.) 
TJiomas Robbins, being Corresponding Secretary, and the ac- 
complished Professor Doane, now Bishop of New-Jersey, Secre- 
tary of the Standing Committee. Several meetings were held of 
the society and of the committee ; by-laws were passed; new 
members were propounded and elected ; an address to the public 
was published ; and contributions of considerable value were 
received. Within a year from the first meeting, however. Judge 
Trumbull and Prof. Doane removed from the State ; and the 
operations of the society were suspended. In 1839, the charter 
was revived; and the society was reorganized under it. 

The general and ultimate object of this society is the history 
of our state and country. Its functions are thr^e-fold ; the 
discovery, the collection and the preservation of the materials of 
such history. To do these things most effectively, associated 
action is necessary. Association awakens attention and keeps it 
awake ; stimulates effort ; encourages perseverance. An isola- 
ted individual may discover a document or become acquainted 
with a fact, which, by itself, would be regarded as unworthy of 
serious attention, and would consequently be neglected ; and yet, 
in connexion with other documents and other facts, it would 
supply a chasm in a course of events, and render certain and 
consistent what before appeared doubtful and discordant — at 
once shedding light upon its concomitants, and being itself illus- 
trated by light reflected from them. 



4 

There is not a nation on earth that has existed two hundred 
years, the sources of whose history are more abundant and au- 
thentic than those of our own. Its origin was not in a barba- 
rous age; its first settlers were not savage and ignorant men ; the 
monuments of their liberties were not merely traditions and cus- 
toms. The very foundations of our civil polity and the frame- 
work of the superstructure rest on enduring records. These are 
expressed with great precision ; are written in legible characters ; 
and come to us in a good state of preservation. The proceed- 
ings of all our corporations, from the sovereign power to a school 
district, are matters of record ; and all our tribunals of justice 
are courts of record. Something more, however, is desirable, if 
not necessary, to develope the internal structure and gradual ad- 
vance of society ; and the means of supplying this desideratum 
are found, to some extent, in almost every family. They exist 
in letters and journals ; in entries in the blank leaves of bibles, 
almanacs and other books; in wills, deeds, covenants and other 
contracts ; in indentures of apprenticeship ; in the proceedings 
of public bodies, whether civil or ecclesiastical, whether corpo- 
rations or voluntary associations ; in maps, charts and surveys; 
in the inscriptions on monuments and grave-stones; in articles 
of dress, furniture and equipage ; in portraits and other pictures; 
in the implements of the husbandman, the tools of the mechanic 
and the machinery of the manufacturer ; in coins and paper used 
as a currency ; in weapons of war and military standards; in 
Indian relics; in minutes of meteorological observations; in 
newspapers and hand-bills ; and in printed books of every descrip- 
tion, from the ponderous folio to the ephemeral pamphlet. 

But numerous and multifarious as these materials are, they 
are scattered over every part of the country ; each is known only 
to a few ; and, under ordinary circumstances, they will be disre- 
garded by all. The attention of observers needs to be excited 
and directed to them. They must also have a tangible object in 
collecting and preserving them ; for efforts apparently fruitless, 
or not seen to be otherwise, will seldom be made. A general 
and permanent rrposifori/ affords the only effectual means of 
preservation — of guarding against "the corrosions of time and 
the power of accident." This security may, and as opportunity 
is afforded, will be perfected, by publication. 

The appropriate objects of the society embrace not only the 
annals of the past, but the statistics of our own times. The ralue 



of such enquiries as tend to develope the present condition and 
the resources of the country, is now better understood and more 
highly appreciated than formerly; but to prosecute them success- 
fully and profitably, associated action and a safe and permanent 
repository, are peculiarly desirable. 

For the accomplishment of its views the society relies not only 
upon the exertions of its own members, but confidently appeals 
to our citizens generally for their encouragement and assistance. 
Let it be borne in mind, that the members are to derive no 
, private advantage from the operations of the society, but that the 
benefits resulting therefrom are exclusively of a public nature. 

In the following list, the principal soarces of the information 
sought by the society, are enumerated. Any of the articles 
therein specified will be gratefully received and carefully pre- 
served, subject to be withdrawn, if required, at any time, from 
the library or cabinet, by the person depositing them. 

Manuscripts, Records, Pamphlets, and Books, relative to the 
History of this State, and of the United States : 

Orations, Sermons, Essays, Discourses, Poems and Tracts, 
written, or delivered, on any public occasion, or in reference to 
any remarkable character or event; especially, biographical me- 
moirs and anecdotes of distinguished persons in this state, or who 
have been connected with its settlement or history : 

Laws, Journals, Copies of Records, and Proceedings of Con- 
gresses, Legislatures, General Assemblies, Conventions, Commit- 
tees of Safety, Secret Committees, Treaties and Negotiations 
with Indian Tribes, or with any State or Nation : 

Proceedings of Ecclesiastical Conventions or Councils, of all 
denominations of Christians : 

Narratives of Missionaries, Proceedings of Missionary or other 
Religious Societies : 

Accounts of Universities, Colleges, Academies, or Public 
Schools, their origin, progress and present state: 

Catalogues of Libraries ; Transactions of Societies for Literary, 
Scientific, or Political purposes : 

Topographical descriptions of Cities, Towns, Counties, &c. 
with Maps : 

Tables of Diseases, Births, Deaths, and Population : 

Accounts of Exports and Imports at various periods, and of 
the progress of Commerce, Manufactures, and Agriculture: 

Meteorological observations of every kind : 



6 

Memoirs, Anecdotes and Epistolary Correspondence of emi- 
nent Americans, or of others connected with the settlement and 
history of America : 

Magazines, Reviews, Pamphlets, Newspapers, 6lc., especially 
those of an early date : 

All Books, Pamphlets, &c. published within the State : 

Original Essays on the Civil, Ecclesiastical and Natural His- 
tory of any State, City, Town, &c. : 

Genealogies of Families, especially of the first settlers of the 
Colony, brought down to the present time : 

Specimens in every department of Natural Science. 

All communications for the Society, or Donations to its Li- 
brary or Cabinet, are to be transmitted to Hartford, addressed to 
Charles Hosmcr, Esq. Recording Secretary, and Clerk of the 
Standing Committee. 

A convenient room in the City of Hartford, central and of easy 
access, with suitable cases, shelves and other accommodations, 
has been provided ; and the society has recommenced its opera- 
tions, under favorable auspices, and with a spirit, which, if 
cherished, can hardly fail of success. 

c»5KC^ 

ACTS OF INCORPORATION. 
1st Act. 

At a General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, holden at 
Hartford, in said State, on the first Wednesday of May , in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five : 

Upon the petition of John Trumbull, and others, shewing 
that in other States societies have been formed for the purpose of 
collecting records and other documents connected with the early 
settlement of our country, and praying for an act of incorpora- 
tion, for the purpose of discovering, procuring and preserving 
whatever may relate to the civil, ecclesiastical and natural histo- 
ry of the United States, and especially of the State of Con- 
necticut : 

Resolved by this Assembly, That John Trumbull, Thomas C 



Brownell, Timothy Pitkin, John S. Peters, William W. Ells- 
worth, Thomas Day, Thomas Robbins, Daniel Burhans, Thomas 
Hubbard, Isaac Toucey, Nathaniel S. Wheaton, George Sumner, 
Roger M. Sherman, William T. Williams, Martin Welles, 
Joseph Battell, William Cooley, Thomas H. Gallaudet, Thomas 
S. Williams, Eli Todd, Walter Mitchell, George W. Doane, 
Samuel B. Woodward, Samuel H. Huntington, Samuel W. Dana, 
James Gould, Samuel A. Foot, Nathan Johnson, Havvley Olm- 
sted, Benjamin Trumbull, and John Hall, and their associates 
and successors, be, and hereby are, ordained, constituted and 
declared to be forever hereafter a body corporate, by the name of 
the Connecticut Historical Society, and by that name they, 
and their associates and successors, shall and may have perpetu- 
al succession, shall be capable of suing and being sued, pleading 
and being impleaded, and also to purchase, receive, hold, and 
convey any estate, real or personal, to an amount not exceeding 
thirty thousand dollars ; and may have a common seal, and the 
same may alter at pleasure ; may establish rules relative to the 
admission of future members; may ordain, establish, and put 
in execution such by-laws and regulations, not contrary to the 
provisions of this Charter, or the laws of this State, as shall be 
deemed necessary for the government of said corporation. 

And hcit further Resolved, That the Governor of this State, the 
Lieutenant-Governor, and the Judges of the Superior Court, 
shall be ex officio members of the Society. 

And be it further Resolved, That said corporation shall meet 
once a year for the choice of a President, Vice-President, Cor- 
responding Secretary, Recording Secretary, Treasurer, and such 
other officers as may be designated from time to time by the by- 
laws of the Society. 

And be it further Resolved, That the first meeting of the soci- 
ety shall be holden at the State-House in Hartford, at such time 
as shall be designated by the Honorable John Trumbull, notice 
thereof being previously given in one or more newspapers printed 
in Hartford. 

Provided nevertheless, That this act of incorporation shall be 
subject to be revoked or altered at the pleasure of the General 
Assembly. 



2d Act. 

At a General Assembly of the State of Connecticut, holden at 
Hartford, in said State, on the first Wednesday of May , in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine : 

Whereas John Trumbull and others, at the session of this As- 
sembly, held at Hartford, on the first Wednesday of May, 1825, 
were incorporated, by the name of the Connecticut Historical 
Society, for the purpose of discovering, procuring and preserv- 
ing materials for the civil, ecclesiastical and natural history of 
the United States, and especially of the State of Connecticut : 
And whereas, it was provided by the act of incorporation, 
that said corporation should meet once a year for the choice of 
a president, vice-president, corresponding secretary, record- 
ing secretary, treasurer, and such other officers as might be 
designated from time to time, by the by-laws of the society : 
And whereas, the persons so incorporated, met in the month 
of May, 1825, and accepted said act of incorporation, and 
elected the officers mentioned therein, who entered upon the 
duties assigned them respectively ; but since the year 1825, 
there has been no election of officers in said society, and it is 
now a matter of doubt whether the charter of said society is 
not forfeited by non-user ; and if otherwise, it is difficult to 
ascertain who are now members : And whereas, some valuable 
historical materials were collected by said society, while it was 
in operation, which have been thus far preserved, but which 
are in danger of being scattered and lost, without the care of 
this, or some similar institution : And whereas, the objects of 
said society are important and worthy of legislative protection 
and encouragement : it is, therefore, 

Resolved and declared by this Assembly, That the existence of 
said society as a body corporate, with the powers and privileges 
originally granted thereto, be continued and perpetuated, as 
though its officers had been chosen annually since 1825. 

Resolved further. That Thomas C. Brovvnell, John S. Peters, 
Wm. W. Ellsworth, Thomas Day, Thomas Robbins, Isaac 
Toucey, George Sumner, Roger M. Sherman, William T. 
Williams, Martin Welles, Thomas H. Gallaudet, Walter Mitchell, 
Samuel II. Huntington, Nathan Johnson, Ilawley Olmsted, David 
S. Boardman, Charles Hosmer, Epaphroditus C. Bacon, Erastus 
Smith, George R. Bulkley, Edward C. Herrick, Noah Porter, jr., 



9 

James L. Kingsley, Leonard Bacon, Nathaniel Goodwin, Charles 
Davies, Royal R. Hinman, John A. Rockwell, Thomas B. Butler, 
L. P. Waldo, Andrew T. Judson, Henry Barnard, 2d., Elkanah 
H. Hodges, shall be deemed the present members of said society, 
and shall continue such, subject to the regulations and by-laws of 
said society : Provided, that the payment of three dollars as an 
admission fee, for the benefit of the society, shall be an essential 
qualification of membership ; and no person who has not already 
paid such fee, shall hereafter be deemed a member, until suoh 
payment be made. 

Resolved further, That Thomas Day be empowered to call 
the next meeting of said society, for the choice of officers, and 
the transaction of other business, at such place in the city of 
Hartford, and at such time as he may designate for that purpose, 
giving previous notice thereof, in one or more newspapers 
printed in said city. 

Provided, nevertheless, that these Resolves, as well as the 
original act of incorporation, shall be subject to be revoked or 
filtered, at the pleasure of the General Assembly. 



-®DS«- 



BY-LAWS 



CONNECTICUT HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

1. In addition to the officers mentioned in the original charter, 
there shall be appointed, annually, seven Vice-Presidents, and a 
Standing Committee, consisting of said officers and seven other 
members ; all which officers shall hold their offices for one year 
and until others shall be elected in their stead. When a vacancy 
in any office, by resignation, death, or removal from the state, 
shall happen during the year, the Standing Committee may fill the 
same for the remainder of the term. 

2. The annual meeting of the society shall be held in the 
month of May, at such time and place as the Standing Committee 
shall appoint for that purpose; they giving previous notice thereof, 



10 

in such manner as they may deem proper. Special meetings may 
be called by the President, or other senior officer in the society, 
on the application or with the consent of three members; public 
notice thereof being previously given. 

3. The Standing Committee shall have power to manage the 
business and concerns of the society, in all cases, except the 
appointment of the annual officers and the election of new mem- 
bers ; and it shall be their duty to promote the objects of the 
society, by such means and in such ways as they may deem 
proper. Any three members of such committee may constitute 
a quorum for the transaction of business. 

4. The Corresponding Secretary shall receive and keep all 
communications addressed to or intended for the society ; and 
shall conduct the correspondence in behalf of the society. 

5. The Recording Secretary shall have the custody of the files, 
records and seal of the society ; shall give notice to new members 
of their election, and shall furnish them with certificates of mem- 
bership ; shall, when directed by the proper officer of the society, 
call meetings of the same; and shall keep an accurate journal of 
the transactions of the society. 

6. The Treasurer shall receive the admission fees, and report 
the names of the persons paying the same to the recording secre- 
tary ; he shall also receive all other monies due, and all donations 
or bequests of money made to the society. He shall pay to the 
order of the chairman of the Standing Committee, such sums as 
may be required for the ordinary expenses of the society, and 
such as the society may otherwise direct to be paid. He shall 
keep a true and faithful account of all moneys received and paid 
by him, and of the property and debts of the society ; and shall, 
at the annual meeting in May, render a particular statement, to 
be examined and audited by a committee appointed for that 
purpose. 

7. Additional members •may be chosen by ballot, and by a 
major vote, on the nomination of the Standing Committee, at any 
legal meeting of the society, at which not less than seven mem- 
bers are present. Honorary members residing out of this state, 
not at any time to exceed half the number of other members, may 
be chosen, in the same manner, at any legal meeting of the soci- 
ety; which last-mentioned members shall not be subject to any 
admission fee or tax. 



11 

8. All donations to, and deposites with, the society, shall be 
entered in a book kept for the purpose. 

9. No donation shall be exchanged or disposed of, unless the 
society have a duplicate of the same. 

10. All deposites left with the society shall be carefully pre- 
served, and may at any time be taken by the depositor personally, 
or delivered on his written order. But if the depositor shall fail 
to take back the same, or give his order therefor, then the same 
shall be entered among the donations of the society, and kept as 
their other property ; unless, at the time of making the deposite, 
other conditions shall be prescribed by the depositor. 

11. If any person elected as a resident member, shall neglect to 
pay the admission fee for the period of three months after he shall 
have been notified by the Recording Secretary of his election, he 
shall be considered as declining the election. 



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